CWM attorneys close on financing for expansion of fresh fruit processing and distribution facility in Eloise and Winter Haven, Florida
On August 30 2013, CWM attorneys Delphine Carnes and Harriet Reynolds closed on an innovative transaction to finance the expansion of the William G. Roe & Sons, Inc. fresh fruit processing and distribution facilities (“Roe”) located in Eloise and Winter Haven, Florida. The Roe facility provides juice extraction, conditioning, packaging, marketing, distribution and storage services for a variety of fruits, including tangerines and blueberries. CWM represented Hampton Roads Ventures, L.L.C (“HRV”), a Virginia-based Community Development Entity, in this transaction which combined $8 million of HRV’s Round 10 New Markets Tax Credit (“NMTC”) allocation with approximately $6.5 million of Florida state NMTC allocation to provide funding for the acquisition of new equipment and the expansion of the facility’s operational capacity. Once construction is complete, this increased capacity will generate 65 new full-time jobs for residents of the surrounding low-income community which has a poverty rate of 22.5% and average incomes below 70% of Median Family Income. Pursuant to a Community Benefits Agreement negotiated by CWM, Roe has committed to pay higher-than-market rate salaries with a full range of benefits as well as provide job training and career advancement opportunities for new hires from the severely distressed census tract in which the project is located.